Chapter 35: Chen Man: Finally a Kiss on the Lips
Chen Man walked barefoot around the three-hundred-square-meter suite, pushing open several doors that looked like bedrooms.
"Study... gym... walk-in closet?" Chen Man stood in the center of the living room, hands on her hips, pointing at the largest carved wooden door with a bewildered expression. "Little brother, come here and take a look. Does this hotel have some kind of misunderstanding about what a 'bedroom' is?"
Jiang Chen put down the luggage, walked over, and pushed open that door.
Before them was an absurdly large space.
There were no partition walls, only hanging velvet curtains.
In the very center sat a super-sized circular bed, visually estimated to be over three meters in diameter.
The ceiling above the bed was mirrored, and there were even several chaise longues placed beside the bed in an extremely suggestive manner.
Aside from that, there were no other beds.
"Ring, ring—"
The landline in the living room rang.
Jiang Chen walked over to answer it. From the receiver came the voice of the front desk manager, apologetic yet filled with a professional fake smile: "Mr. Jiang, I am very sorry. The system just showed an error. The executive family suite originally reserved for you is undergoing emergency repairs due to a burst water pipe. To express our apologies, we have upgraded you for free to the hotel's only 'Imperial Honeymoon Floor.' This is our hotel's highest-spec room with the best privacy. I wish you... a pleasant night."
Hanging up the phone, Jiang Chen looked at the three women in the room and shrugged.
"No other rooms?" Su Qingge sat by the bar, gripping the bottle of evian water so hard her fingertips turned white.
"Full." Jiang Chen hung his coat on the rack. "Or, we can check out now and squat at the train station square for the night?"
No one spoke.
In this kind of weather, going out would be pure suffering.
"Fine then." Chen Man was actually the quickest to accept it. She kicked off her other high heel, her eyes scanning back and forth between the massive massage tub and the large bed. "The bed's big enough anyway; we can sleep horizontally or vertically. As long as certain people don't get handsy at night... or if they do, don't deny it."
As she spoke, she shot a meaningful glance at Su Qingge.
Su Qingge turned her head away, pretending to look at the night view outside the window, though the tips of her ears had quietly turned red.
"I'm going to shower first." Chen Man rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out a change of clothes—a few pieces of lace that were pitifully sparse. "I'm covered in sweat; it's so uncomfortable."
The bathroom was semi-open.
The giant circular massage tub faced the floor-to-ceiling window, separated only by a piece of smart glass that could adjust its transparency via remote control.
At the moment, the glass was frosted, and a graceful silhouette could be faintly seen inside.
The sound of running water splashed.
Jiang Chen sat on the sofa, taking out his phone to check traffic information.
Lin Wan silently went to the open kitchen to check the ingredients in the fridge, seemingly trying to find something to do to ease the awkward atmosphere.
Su Qingge sat opposite him, using a tablet to handle company emails, though she hadn't turned a single page for a long time.
*Knock, knock.*
The frosted glass of the bathroom was tapped.
"Um... Jiang Chen?" Chen Man's voice drifted out from inside, carrying a hint of lazy steam. "Can you do me a favor?"
Jiang Chen didn't even look up: "Speak."
"I forgot to take a bath towel." Chen Man sounded perfectly justified. "It's in the side pocket of my pink suitcase. Can you hand it in to me? The floor tiles are slippery, so it's not convenient for me to come out."
Su Qingge looked up, pushed her glasses, and shot a cold gaze toward the bathroom.
Lin Wan's hand cutting fruit also paused for a moment.
"Don't you have hands?" Jiang Chen continued scrolling through the news, unmoved.
"Oh, please, I'm begging you." Chen Man's voice softened, trailing off with a coquettish tone. "We're all so familiar with each other. You've seen what there is to see, so why act like such a gentleman? Hurry up, the water's getting cold."
Jiang Chen sighed.
He stood up, walked to Chen Man's suitcase, pulled out a white bath towel, and went to the bathroom door.
"Open up."
The door lock clicked open.
A wave of hot steam mixed with the rich scent of rose essential oil rushed out.
The bathroom was shrouded in mist.
The smart glass had been adjusted to semi-transparent at some point, making the city's colorful lights the most decadent backdrop.
Chen Man wasn't in the tub.
Wrapped in a layer of bubbles, she was standing by the door, still holding the remote control.
Just as Jiang Chen took a step inside, his foot slipped—the floor was covered in body wash bubbles.
His center of gravity shifted, and he instinctively reached out to grab the door frame, but a wet hand grabbed his wrist.
"Careful."
Chen Man pulled hard.
The two of them fell together into the massive double massage tub.
The warm waves instantly surged over their chests, sending bubbles flying.
Jiang Chen choked on a mouthful of water, and before he could steady himself, a slippery, warm body pressed against him.
Chen Man clung to him like an octopus, her wet long hair sticking to her cheeks. Those peach-blossom eyes, which were usually full of calculation and charm, were now veiled in a layer of mist.
"Are you crazy?" Jiang Chen wiped the water from his face and lowered his voice. "They're right outside."
"I know." Chen Man leaned into his ear, biting his earlobe, her voice thin as a thread. "It's precisely because they're outside... that I have to hurry."
She looked at Jiang Chen, a flicker of resentment and grievance flashing in her eyes.
"Why?" she asked. "Why do the two of them get to monopolize you? What about me? Am I only fit to sit in the passenger seat and blow cold air? Or only fit to be your third wheel?"
Jiang Chen looked at her.
This woman, who was usually loud and seemed the most carefree, was actually the one who lacked security the most.
She was used to using her spicy personality to mask herself and using her initiative to cover the heartache of being backstabbed by her ex-boyfriend.
"Is this the reason you needed a towel?" Jiang Chen's hand supported her waist to keep her from slipping in the water.
"It's not just the towel." Chen Man tilted her head up. Her face, which looked exceptionally pure after her makeup had been washed away, held a desperate stubbornness. "I want to leave a stamp too."
With that, she kissed him.
This kiss had no technique; it was pure emotion.
It carried the scent of body wash, the temperature of hot water, and an urgency as if she wanted to melt herself into him.
Her teeth bumped against Jiang Chen's lips, causing a bit of pain, but this pain instead became the best catalyst.
The bathroom exhaust fan whirred, masking the sound of the churning water.
Jiang Chen didn't push her away.
In this enclosed space filled with heat and bubbles, logic seemed to have evaporated along with the steam.
He reached around and cupped the back of Chen Man's head, deepening the kiss.
If Su Qingge was a lotus on a snowy mountain and Lin Wan was an orchid under the eaves, then Chen Man was a red rose with thorns.
Prickly, but passionate.
After a long time, their lips parted.
Chen Man leaned against the edge of the tub, panting heavily, her chest heaving violently, and a glistening thread hanging from the corner of her mouth.
Her eyes were dazed, and her cheeks were as red as a ripe tomato.
"That's enough." Jiang Chen let go, leaned against the other side, and grabbed a towel from the nearby rack to cover her. "The stamping is over. Let's go out to eat."
Chen Man was stunned for a moment, then she burst out laughing.
She stretched out her foot and gently kicked Jiang Chen's calf underwater: "Little brother, you... really don't take advantage of people. But... I'm very satisfied with how this stamp was placed."
Su Qingge's voice came from outside the door, carrying a hint of imperceptible anxiety: "Jiang Chen? Did you find the towel?"
"Found it."
Jiang Chen stood up from the water, soaked through. The white shirt clung to his body, outlining his firm muscle lines.
He casually wiped his hair back, pushed open the bathroom door, and walked out.
Behind him, Chen Man curled up in the bubble-filled tub, watching his back. Her fingers gently touched her red and swollen lips, and the resentment in her eyes finally faded, replaced by the cunning of someone who had successfully gotten away with something.